The present invention relates to a toilet seat covering and more particularly to a toilet seat covering which is automatically replaced upon command.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,212 issued to Hefty et al there is a brief discussion of the state of the art of applying hygienic covers to toilet seats. The patent describes a variety of earlier arrangements covered by German patents and discloses and claims an arrangement for dispensing from a supply reel a tubular plastic to feed on one end of a toilet seat to be pulled the length of the toilet seat and then wound up on a take-up reel from the other end for last disposition.
The arrangement of Hefty et al requires that one end of the horseshoe spaced toilet seat be free, or in effect, floating, in order for the tubular plastic material being dispensed to be fed onto and surround the seat itself. The necessity for surrounding the seat is dictated by the need to insure that the plastic covering will not fall off the top of the seat, a problem generally associated with previous such devices as described by the patentees.
Several drawbacks are associated-with the device described in the patent. The presence of a free end of the horseshoe shaped seat can interfere with the movement of the tubular plastic material from the supply reel if the free end is inadvertently or intentionally pulled away from the top of the commode. Furthermore, when a child uses the seat there could be a safety hazard because the free end makes it possible for a limb to be caught between the free end and the commode. In addition, the exposed knife edge which is required at the other end of the seat to slit the plastic tubing to permit egress from the seat for winding on the take-up reel is a safety hazard as well. An exploratory poking of a finger into the region where the blade is located could very well result in a serious injury and bleeding. Other potential problems can be caused by twisting of the plastic on the seat resulting in jamming of the device, or tearing of the plastic which can result in a total failure of operation.